Nightmare
by Haya-dono
Summary: Something has woken up Lucina. As she tries to distract herself for the rest of the night, she bumps into someone she didn't expect to meet.


_A.N.: Based on one of the lines Lucina says should you visit the barracks at night._

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Ashes and smoke blinded Lucina, the stagnant smell of blood was so strong, nauseating and threatening to make her throw up. Screams and inhuman noises rang loudly in her ears, some were so close, too close. She swung her sword against them, cutting the air but not hitting the target. The sharp cry of a woman, full of despair as she was devoured alive by those creatures, made her heart shiver, a signal of the impending doom that was coming closer. The footsteps of the people trying to run away, giving it all just to live one more day, disappeared as they were swallowed by screams and screeching noises. The Risen were everywhere, the idea of escaping was ridiculous. Lucina finally recovered her vision, only to see more piles of bodies, bleeding to death, some half-eaten, Risen surrounding some corpses and preying on their still warm flesh. However, her thoughts were immediately interrupted as she swung Falchion to protect herself from one of those monsters that wanted her to join her kin. A fast swipe and the Risen was no more, but it was one of many. She had to secure some escape route, and just as she scanned the area, she felt _it_.

A presence so overwhelming that everything inside her trembled in absolute fear. A heart-shattering howl that was capable of killing every single shred of hope rang aloud, resounding in her head. Her grip on Falchion unconsciously weakened and the last memento of her father fell to the ground as she turned around to see it. Grima, the Fell Dragon, was in front of her.

She tried to pick up Falchion but Grima roared once more, freezing her in the spot as her heart sank, she knew what that meant. Despair filled her as she kept staring at those red eyes, almost reflecting the demise of every Ylissean. She was next, she had to escape but her feet were glued to the ground. There was no father to protect her, no mother to come at the right moment, no little brother she was trying to buy time to run away. She was all alone in front of the Dragon that took them away from her. Grima opened its mouth, she could see all the sharp teeth coming closer to her as she realized what would follow. Her body wouldn't move, completely paralyzed by terror as then Grima swallowed her up and -

Lucina opened her eyes and got up violently, sitting in her bed, shivering and breathing sharply. Covered in cold sweat, she ran her hands over her body, over the sheets that were covering her as her eyes tried to scan her surroundings in the darkness. She was in her tent, a realization that made her sigh deeply in relief as a shaky hand covered her eyes. It wasn't the first time she had had that nightmare, but it felt so real that she always mistook it for her reality which wasn't that far from the dreams she'd have. She stayed like that in silence, trying to catch her breath and waiting for her body to stop shaking. It was always like that, she was already dreading what usually happened. She'd not be able to fall asleep, and if she did, the nightmare would come back. She shook her head, she wasn't in the mood to deal with Grima in her dreams a second time in that night.

As soon as she had calmed down, she stood up, grabbed Falchion and wandered through the camp, as silent as she could be. She hoped that the stars above or the sight of the unlit tents where people close to her were sleeping would soothe her, but no such luck. She couldn't use this time to practice her swordsmanship. Even as the prospect of training until she fell unconscious was ridiculously tempting, she knew too well that whenever she did it, the nightmares would come as well. She had to find out another way to pass time.

Wandering without a destination, just going where her feet led her, she found herself in front of a lit barrack, the usual strategy room. Lucina wondered about this, as far as she could tell it was way past midnight and everyone in their army was already fast asleep. Excusing herself she entered the room. She didn't have high hopes that a talk with someone would help her, but at least it would kill some time until the sun rose. If no one was there, at least she'd be able to read or pretend to read as she stared at the words. She would find out a way to amuse herself.

The barracks weren't deserted, but the person inside didn't seem to notice her presence, too busy reading a thick book Lucina immediately recognized. A rare and extensive book on strategy, her mother's favorite. In front of Lucina was the very same woman who had given birth to her, Robin, concentrated in her lecture as she seemed to devour the content of the book for the twentieth time. Lucina knew it was her time to leave; she'd need to seek for a distraction somewhere else as she didn't want to interrupt her mother. Robin was surely studying and formulating an infinite number of plans to aid them in their upcoming battles, with the impending battle against Walhart and Grima drawing close. Lucina knew how critical time was for them, it was something they were missing, so she couldn't be so selfish to distract her mother with a silly dream. She turned around and walked towards the door as silently as she managed.

"Lucina, it is too late. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Her mother's voice caught Lucina off-guard, she was sure her presence went unnoticed. Trying to cover her surprise, she cleared her throat as she replied, "Oh, Mother. Something woke me up. How about you?" She tried to make it sound nonchalant, hoping that she would be dismissed.

Robin's eyes lifted from her book to her daughter, who was standing straight, perhaps too straight and stiff to be natural. "I was reading this book, I figured we'd need a vast number of possible strategies for our campaign against Walhart's forces. But…" Robin closed her book and left it on the table she was sitting next to and turned to see her daughter, "You didn't come here to talk about strategy, right?"

Lucina's figure became tense, she recalled her mother was sharp at reading her when she was lying or hiding something, but she didn't remember she was that good. "I-it's nothing," she said, as her grip on Falchion strengthened.

"Lucina…" Robin's tone made Lucina grimace, the young woman knew her mother wouldn't let it slide. It was the same tone a mother would use to lightly scold a child for hiding an injury, an injury said parent would make feel better. A tone Lucina found to be nostalgic, something she had missed for a long time.

Robin moved and carried a chair, placing it next to hers. As she sat again, she put her hand in the new chair, motioning Lucina to join her. "Why don't you sit here?"

"O-okay," was Lucina's answer, as she did as ordered. She sat next to her mother, waiting for what Robin was going to say. It had been a long time since she had been in a situation like this.

"I don't think something so minuscule would wake you up, Lucina. Not when you are energetically sparring with your father whenever you can. Whenever you do, you fall asleep easily. Would you like to talk about it?"

"I-it's nothing, Mother," Lucina replied, her tone was as calm as she managed to make it, except for the slight stuttering at the beginning. "My training today wasn't as intense and I managed to take a nap in the afternoon."

Robin held her chin, deep in thought as she tried to recall when she had seen Lucina. "Now that you mention it, you did disappear after everyone had dinner. So you took a nap then?"

"Yes, Mother. I am afraid that if I sleep too early, I won't get to sleep at night. I promise I won't do it again." Lucina's reply was perfect, her tone and pitch were convincing enough and her excuse seemed plausible as well. It was a good one, even if she had just come up with it in the spot. As much as she felt bad for lying to her mother, she knew she couldn't take up her time when Robin was busy, missing hours of sleep for the sake of their future.

"Did you sleep that long?"

"I didn't intend for that nap to take more than three hours."

In reality, she had spent her time with Morgan, trying to stop him from breaking his skull with a rock in a dangerous attempt to regain his memories of Chrom, their father. However, Lucina was confident Morgan wouldn't give her away. If Mother heard about what he was trying to do… She had the perfect alibi.

"Mother, I know you are busy, so I'll take my leave," Lucina said, almost confident. She never took herself for an actress but that performance was certainly good, quite convincing if she said so herself. All she had to do was leave the barracks.

However, Robin stared at her face. "Lucina, you are a bad liar. Your left eye twitches whenever you lie," she said as she gave her daughter a smile and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Lucina's eyes widened as she lifted her hand to her eye, trying to feel if it was twitching, just as her mother told her. "I-I don't remember my eye twitches!"

Robin let out a chuckle, making her daughter look at her. "No, it doesn't. But you just gave yourself away," she said with a knowing smile. Lucina had fallen directly on her trap.

As soon as she heard Robin's reply, Lucina put her hand on top of her lap and sat still, waiting for a scolding for lying. "How did you know, Mother?" she asked.

"Well…" Her mother put a finger in front of her smile as she playfully looked around, she seemed to enjoy the intrigue she was causing on her daughter. "I had a hunch."

"A hunch?"

Robin nodded, as she closed her eyes. "Yes, mother's intuition. I knew you were lying, but your acting was really good, you almost fooled me. But… even the best actors make subconscious reactions when things stray off the script and they are not expecting them."

It finally dawned on Lucina, as she looked at her mother. "The twitching. That's why you mentioned it… To see if I was acting…" Lucina gaped at her mother as she pronounced those words, her realization. It should have been clear to her already why she was the tactician of Chrom's army. She didn't expect her to be this sly as well when parenting, or rather, she didn't remember how she was in her world. It pained her to recall that she hadn't been able to share times like these with her mother.

"So? Would you like to talk about it?" Robin's casual tone confused Lucina further, as she expected a reprimand.

Lucina sighed in defeat, her shoulders slumped. She had been bested, but she still felt at odds, they had already lost so much time with her lie. "I don't want to inconvenie-"

What cut off Lucina's voice was the sensation of her mother's hand on her head. "My daughter, you'll never be an inconvenience to me or to your father. If there is something on your mind or something that's bothering you, we'll always make some time for you. You should know this."

Lucina bit her lip, as she listened to Robin. Her hands gripped Falchion, it was a nostalgic feeling. For the first time in a long time, she was spending time with her mother. All those nights she had spent by herself, trying to recall memories of happier times together, now they weren't things she imagined. It was happening.

"I-I had a nightmare…" she whispered, as she looked down to the floor, unable to meet her mother's eye. She knew that if she did, she'd not be able to contain herself.

"What kind of nightmare, Lucina?" Robin's words cooed in her ear, as she patted Lucina's head.

"I was alone fighting Risen… It was horrible, so many Ylissean died and I couldn't do anything! And then, Grima appeared and…" Lucina didn't realize that as she spoke, her voice started cracking and her hands began shaking. The memories of that dream flashed as vividly as if she were back then, back to her hopeless, dying world. She was back and could hear the screams and smell the blood and...

Warmth, a distant but familiar feeling surrounded her as Robin's arms embraced Lucina gently, pressing her against her mother's chest. One of Robin's hands rubbed Lucina's back in circles while the other held her daughter firmly, no one would be able to make her let go of her beloved daughter. "It is alright, it'll be alright, Lucina," her mother whispered.

Lucina's lips quivered, she was frozen in her spot, but even then, Robin didn't stop holding her daughter. "M-mother…." Her voice was cracking, as the rest of the words died in her throat, threatened by the tears she was trying to hold back.

"The future can be changed. We will change it. And you'll not be alone anymore, my Lucina."

Shaking arms hugged Robin's frame, as Lucina hid her face in her mother's chest, letting the tears fall freely, sobbing silently at first, then wailing without restraint for the first time in years. After she lost her family, after she saw her world be destroyed by Grima and the Risen, she swore to herself to be strong and to put an end to the Fell Dragon. She never thought she'd be able to feel her mother's warmth and kindness again, something she had long lost and almost forgotten. She felt strangely safe in her mother's arms, as Robin reassured her that they would stop Grima, they'd change the future. She had to keep hoping, they were all going to fight for a better future.

"I'll always protect you, my daughter," Robin murmured, never letting go of Lucina, as the young girl continued crying.

At the sound of those words, Lucina gripped her mother's cloak tightly. She knew what was going to happen. She knew what the future would hold, what would happen between her mother and her father, and she sobbed even harder. Robin looked startled, her hands even stopped for a second, as she wondered what made Lucina cry harder. However, she resumed her gesture, even more tenderly, as the last thing she wanted to see was her daughter crying. Lucina had to believe in her mother, she had to. That was all that went through her mind. Her father had faith in her, so Lucina had to have it as well. The future could be changed, she cling to those words her parents told her.

Time went by, mother and daughter holding each other. Not even once Robin tried to break free, even if her hands started to feel numb. Lucina's grip lessened as her sobs died, until she was only weeping silently. Eventually, Lucina moved back, her face was tear-stained, her eyes swollen and red. Then, they heard the rooster singing; it was dawn already. Lucina gave an ashamed look at her mother, she didn't intend to spend all night crying. Robin shook her head and gave her a warm smile, as she patted her daughter's head and kissed her forehead gently.

"The others will get up soon. We should have your face washed, I don't think you want Morgan or your father asking about your eyes," she said as she stood up. Lucina followed her as well. Then, as they walked out of the barracks, Lucina hugged her mother once more, as she whispered, "Thank you, Mother."

"I'd do anything for you, Lucina."

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_A.N.: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it._


End file.
